Luzerne County Government

January 30, 2010

Griffith banning deputy pay plan

The county spent $190,700 last year for delivery of legal documents.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith said he’s not going to authorize any more extra pay for sheriff deputies to serve legal documents for civil court and mortgage foreclosures, so it will be up to the sheriff’s office and county officials to figure out an alternative.

Griffith had discovered Thursday that seven employees had been paid an additional $190,700 last year as compensation for using their own vehicles to serve the documents, often on county time.

He said the employees should be using county sheriff vehicles to serve the documents and be scheduled to work some evening shifts to serve documents on people who aren’t around during regular work hours so little or no overtime is incurred.

Former Sheriff Barry Stankus said that’s what he did. The office leased vehicles over four years and then owned them. Workers were assigned some evening shifts, he said.

The $190,700 came from attorneys who needed the documents served.

Stankus said the payment from attorneys covered the vehicle lease payments and fuel, with revenue left over for the county.

Mary Jean Farrell, one of the employees who received the additional money, said she would have no problem using sheriff vehicles, but she stressed that the union contract would require that deputies be paid overtime if they must serve documents beyond their scheduled hours.

Farrell received $47,461 in addition to her $34,550 salary last year to serve documents.

She estimated she logged 60,000 miles on her personal vehicle serving documents in 2009, which would have entitled her to $33,600 with the county’s 56-cent mileage reimbursement.

The deputies who receive the extra payment have also agreed to forego overtime, even though they work many evenings, she said.

The deputies received a flat payment starting at $12 for each document served, and deputies must make three attempts to serve the document, she said. If one trip is required, the deputy may come out ahead, but the flat payment may not cover gas and wear-and-tear on the vehicle if multiple trips are necessary, she said.

Farrell said the extra payment is not a perk, and she would have no problem giving up the task or using a county vehicle.

Paula Schnelly, head of the union that represents sheriff deputies, said nobody ever informed the union that some employees were paid additional money to serve the documents and use their personal vehicles.

Employees who use their personal vehicles should be tracking their mileage and receiving reimbursement using the standard formula, said Schnelly, who represents the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.

Any opportunity to make overtime serving documents beyond regularly scheduled work hours must be offered to all deputies based on seniority, Schnelly said.

She predicts that other deputies will file grievances arguing that there was unequal treatment.

“I think our biggest concern is the fact that only certain individuals have been making this money. Whether correctly or incorrectly, this money wasn’t equally distributed to all deputies,” Schnelly said.

The union is already investigating how other opportunities for overtime are awarded in the office, she said.

County Chief/Clerk Manager Doug Pape said the administration will likely be discussing the matter with the sheriff’s office next week, particularly if it involves a request for more vehicles.

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